Suction cleaner



April so, 1940. B. c. BE'CKER 2,198,900

sucTIoN CLEANER Filed March-1s, l'ss 2 sheets-sneer 1 l ti INVEN-ron BGFHard C. Bec/rer BY i ATTORNEY April 30, 1940. E. c. BECKER sUcTIN CLEANER Filed March 1B, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Bernard 6I Becker ATTORNEY I Patented Apr. 30, 1940 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,198,900 sUocrroN CLEANER.

l Bernard C. Becker, Canton, Ohio, assigner to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a x'- poration of Ohio Application March 18, 1938, Serial No. 196,648

'1 Claims. (Cl. 1li-9) This invention relates to improvements in the adjustability of the front and rear wheels, but suction cleaners and more particularly to a .sucrather brings into play a. somewhat different load tion cleaner designed to be converted to and from distribution factor, so that it is possible by mereoifthefloor cleaning operation with the use. of ly changingthe position of the handle, orat least,

dusting tools and with the added feature of an by slight pressure thereon, to cause the cleaner 5 arrangementD whereby the nozzle is raised above to tilt backwardly on its rear Wheels and simulits normal height preparatory to the converttaneously raise the nozzle and expose the cony ing operation and thus maintained during the verter port for the insertion of the converter period of dusting. tool operation, member.` It is therefore the object of the pres- When cleaners are equipped with carpet conent invention to provide an improved arrange- 10 tacting agitators or rotary brushes it is desirment of interloking coaction between the conable to elevate the nozzle while the dusting tools verting operation and the elevation of the nozzle.

are being used in order to prevent undue carpet A preferred embodiment of the invention is diswear which might otherwise occur if the cleaner closed in the accompanying drawings, in which were allowed to stand in one position for a con- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a suction 15 siderable length of time. Furthermore, rit is ad-V cleaner with a section of the casing wall removed 'vantageoustmdesign the nozzle raising Amechato show the front wheel'mounting with its barnism in such a way that the conversion for dustrier lever in normal position;

ing tool operation cannot be completed until the Figure 2 is a bottom'plan view of the cleaner nozzle or forward portion of the cleaner has first body; 20 been elevated to the safety level. Figure 3 is a view in side elevation correspond- A simple and common method of raising and ing to Figure 1, showing the converter member lowering the nozzle lis to provide either adjustinserted and the nozzle elevated; able front or rear wheels, that is to say, wheels Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view that may be adjusted bodily in a vertical direc- 'showing the converter member inserted into the 25 tion preferably by mounting; them upon pivoted fconverter port; and supporting brackets. And, to control the con- Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the verting operation, a lever arm or barrier is made front wheel 4mounting including the barrier le- 1 a. part of the adjustable wheel support, said barver. y

rier normally acting to prevent the insertion 'of Referring to the cleaner in its general aspects, 30 the converter member into the port provided to the same comprises a. wheeled casing l, having receive it. An arrangement embodying the gena. nozzle portion [extending transversely of its eral features herein outlined, is disclosed in an 'forward end, with a downwardly opening sucapplication filed on July 6, 1936, bearing Serial tion mouth. Within the nozzle and extending No. 89,062, nown Patent 2,142,810, in which the lengthwise thereof is a rotary agitator 3 consist- 35 rear wheels form a. part 'of a spring-pressed ing of a cylindric shell having a suitable arrange- `hinged mounting including a barrier levery coactment of brush elements and helically arranged ing with a converter port at one side of the beater bars', such as are common to agitators of cleaner casing. In this arrangement, it is necesthis type. e

40 sary to press downwardly on the rearportion of Located centrally of the casing I is a relative- 40 the cleaner casingin order to overcome theo spring -ly shallow fan chamber Y4 enclosing a fan 5 having tension and in so doing the barrier lever is disdirect driving connection with a motor (not placed below lthe converter port permitting the shown) supported on the top of the casing I converter member to be inserted,.whereupon the and enclosed within a cover or dome 6. At the cleaner casing remains in a slightly tilted posigeometric center of the bottom wall of the fan 45 tion with the nozzle elevated and with the barchamber Lis the circular opening@ la forming rier lever in contact with the converter member the inlet or eye of the lfan chamber and comto hold the nozzle in elevated position until the municating with one end of Va passage extending converter member is removed. t forwardly and communicating with the nozzle.

The present disclosure differsirom the earlier This passageway is formed in part by a shallow 50 disclosure in a number of particulars, the chief depending wall 1 extending around the rear `half diil'erence being that the front wheels are vertof the fan eye la, thence forwardly with a slight cally. adjustable instead of the rear wheels, aloutward flare and thence curving abruptly in though it is to5 be pointed out that the invention opposite directions to forml the rear wall oi'/I the resides in something more than merely reversing nozzle chamber. -A removable bottom plate 8, 55

which also includes the rear lip of the suction mouth, completes the passage. Enclosed within the passage is a belt 9 driving from a pulley extension I0 of the fan hub to a groove at the central portion of the agitator 3.

Thus, the dirt-laden air entering the nozzle through the suction mouth passes through the inlet' passage into the fan chamber, thence to be discharged rearwardly and into a dirt bag H having detachable connection with a rearwardly Aopening anged outlet connection I2.

The cleaner is supported upon pairs of`froni and rear wheels, the front wheels i3, i3 being independently journalled just tothe rearof the nozzle portion 2 and in close proximity to the side walls of the casing i, whereas the rear wheels id, it are preferably combined in the form of a caster, consisting of a bracket I6 having pivotal connection with the underside of the cleaner casing and supportingv an axle l5 on which the wheels are journalled. For the purpose of the present disclosure, the rear wheels i6, i4 may be considered as fixed with relation to the cleaner casing, although for practical purposes they are made vertically adjustable in order to vary the height of the nozzle with respect to different types and grades of carpet to be cleaned.

Thus, the cleaner is preferably equipped with a manually operated adjusting mechanism for the rear Wheel consisting essentially of a rodvl'i attached at one end of the wheel supporting it and, passing upwardly through the cleaner casing, is surmounted by an adjusting knob it accessible by the operator Afor raising or lowering the rear caster and thus tilting the entire cleaner casing about the iront wheels as a fulcrum to obtain the desired,setting for the,

loor cleaning operation, the transition from one to the other consists primarily in diverting the incoming air stream from the nozzle to the auxiliary hose carrying the dusting tools. The method of conversion herein employed is a. comparatively simple one involving the provision of a port or passage leading into the air inlet passage immediately adjacent the fan eye and adapted to receive a special iitting mounted at one end of the dusting tool hose. The insertion of the converter member or fitting crosswise of the air inlet passage simultaneously closes off the inlet from the nozzle and establishes connection with the hose. Thus, referring to Figures 2 and 4 particularly, on the underside of the cleaner casing is a metal shell i9, generally U-shaped in cross-section and forming the side and bottom walls of a rectangular relatively shallow pas# sage leading from the outer edge of the cleaner casing substantially at right angles and inwardly to the side wall 1 of the inlet passage where 'a port or opening is formed. As more clearly shown in Figure 4, the opening or port at the inner end of the converter passage is normally closed by a spring-actuated valve or gate member 20, which swings downwardly and into open position upon the insertion ofthe converter member 2l, as shown in Figure 4. Hence, the operation of the converting of the cleaner to ofi-the-oor cleaning operation, providing no barrier interferes, is simply that of inserting the converter member 2| at the end of the dusting operated by one of them to prevent the conver sion operation from being completed without first raising the nozzle above the floor surface. Each of the front wheels i3 are journalled upon stub shafts 13a carried by pivoted supporting brackets 22 having pivotal mounting at the lower end of a vertically disposed post 23 suitably anchored to the underside of the cleaner casing. A transverse bearing pin 24 supports each pivoted wheel supporting bracket 22 and a torsion spring 25 is coiled around each of the bearing pins 2li, with one end bearing against an adjacent downwardly facing edge 23a of the post 23 as an abutment, and its other end also extending iorwardly and hooked over the stub shaft of each wheel i3. '.ll'hea front wheels i3 are thus mounted forwardly of the bearing pins 24 supporting their brackets 22 so that normally .said wheels would tend to swing in a counterclockwise direction under the weight of the cleaner. However, the torsion springs 25 act to counterbalance a part of the load on the front wheels, but it is to be noted that these springs are not strong enough to overcome or even counterbalance the -weight normally carried upon the front wheels, with the result that under normal operating conditions, the depression ,of the iront end of the cleaner is limited only by abutting contact between the top gedges of the pivoted brackets 22 and the abutment 23a of the supporting posts 23, as clearly shown in Figure 1. v

Now, the mounting of both front wheels is identical except for a rearwardly extending lever arm 21 which forms an integral part of the wheel supporting ybracket 22 located adjacent the converter passage. This lever arm 21 is a vertically arranged blade-like lever normally assuming a horizontal position immediately below the underside of the fan chamber 4 and also projecting into the converter passage through a slot or opening in the forward upright wall thereof, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4. Obviously, with this lever arm extending into the passage, it serves as an effective barrier against the insertion of the converter member until removed. To remove the barrier it is only necessary t'o tilt the cleaner body backwardly on its rear wheels, thus allowing the torsion springs 25 to depress the front wheels bodilyfin a clockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 3, so that the nozzle portion 2 is not only raised a considerable distance above the oor surface but the barrier lever 2'! is swung upwardly and entirely out of the converter passage. It is now possible to insert the converter member with a simple endwise sliding movement. lit is obvious however, that the insertion. of the converter member is accomplished while the cleaner casing is still in its backwardly tilted position and once the con- 'version has been completed, the-cleaner casing fil as permitted by the-contact of the barrier lever 21 with the converter member. -Thus, the cleaner is prevented from resuming its normal position with the nozzle in proximity to the oor surface while the converter member is in place.

In common with suction cleaners ofthe handle-maneuvered type, the present cleaner is equipped with a handle 28 ofthe usual type and arrangement and of ai length such that the operator can readily maneuver the cleaner over the carpet surface from, an erect position. The handle is mounted well above the top of the casing l and is intended to swing about a transverse axis from a rearwardly extending horizontal position to an upright position, with anr intermediate working range. Though not shown, means may be provided for positively locking the handle in its extreme positions with a hand or foot operated release device, or it may .have a torsion spring applied at the pivot and merely .acting to prevent the handle from dropping freely should it be released by the operator. The fact is, that the particular type of handlepositioning means employed, if any, is notlmportant except in respect to the 'manner in which the Ahandle is shifted from one position to the other, although it is important to note that the location'of the handle pivot is directly above the rear wheels I 4. As a consequence, the dead weightpf the handle is thrown well to the rear of the center of mass of the cleaner body and hence, it is possible to counterbalance the weight of the cleaner about the rear wheels I4 as a fulcrum, merely by changing the angle of the handle. For example, it may be assumed that/'by droppingl the handle to the lowered position, as shown in' Figure 1, the cleaner will tilt backwardly into the dotted line position, Wherefil l'il

upon the barrier 21 is .raised to a position to permitfthe converter member to be inserted, as shown in Figure 3.

It is not necessary however, to distribute the weight so nicely as to cause the cleaner to tilt upon its rear wheels merely by shifting the position of the handle, although it is contemplated that the location of the handle pivot will always be such that the weight of the handle plus a slight pressure will tilt the cleaner so that the operator with practically no e'ort, can easily tilt the cleaner .with one hand and insert the converter member with the other. In any case, the tilting of the cleaner body and the accompanying elevation ofA- the nozzle to a height which will insure non-contact of the agitator with the oor covering, must precede the insertion of the converter member preparatory to dusting tool operation. And, once the conversion has been cornpleted, it further follows that the nozzle must remain in elevated position until the dusting tool operation has been completed and the converter member removed.v And finally, as heretofore y mentioned, while -the barrier feature may be said casing, a spring-pressed bracket pivotally mounted 1on said casing adjacent said port and carrying one 'of said front wheels, said bracket having a portion normally positioned to obstruct d said port but shiftable from port-obstructing position under spring tension in the bodily tilting of said casing backwardly on its rear wheels and in a manner to remove the load from said front Wheels.

2. In va suction'cleaner, the combination of a casing including a suction-producing unit having a 'nozzlecommunicating therewith through a connecting air passage and a port opening into said passage and adapted to receive a converter member carried by a dusting tool hose for closing off the same during oiT-the-floor cleaning operation, wheels mounted on the underside of said casing., the wheels adjacent said nozzle being carried on brackets pivotally mounted for vertically shifting the position of said wheels to raise and lower said nozzle, the front wheel bracket adjacent said port including a lever arm adapted normally to extend across the entrance to said port to prevent the insertion of said converter member into said port,

and tension means acting on said wheel support-I the rear wheels in a direction to raise the nozzle above its normal operating level.

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a. casing having a fan chamber, a nozzle communieating with said fan chamber through an air inlet passage and a port opening laterally into said passage adjacent the inlet to said fan chamber, a pair of front and rear wheels supporting said casing, said front wheels being mounted for limited vertical movement on pivotally mounted brackets but normally supporting said nozzle at a predetermined distance above the oor surface, one of said brackets having an arm normally adapted to extend transversely `of said converter port, and tension means acting on said wheel supporting brackets in a direction to depress said front Wheels upon the tilting of said casing-backlWardly on its rear wheels thereby swinging said lever out of port obstructing position to permit the insertion of a converter member intosaid port.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing having a fan chamber and a nozzle communicating with said fan chamber 'through an air inlet passage and a port opening laterally into said passage adjacent the inlet to said fan chamber, a pair of front and rear wheels supporting said casing, brackets pivotally mounted on the underside of said casing and carrying said front wheels for limited vertical movement relativ'e to said casing, the front wheel bracket adjacent said converter port having a rearwardly extending arm normally adapted to extend transversely in front of said converter port, abutments contacting said wheel supporting brackets to maintain said nozzle at a predetermined height above the Iloor, and tension means acting on said pivoted supporting brackets` to depress said wheels whensaid casing is tilted backwardly on its rear wheels and to swing said leverupwardly above the entrance to said converter port, thereby permitting the insertion of a converter member `into said port, the subsequent contact of said leverwith said converter member acting to maintain said casing in nozzle elevated position.

5. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing having a fan chamber and a nozzle communicating with said fan chamber through a connecting air passageway, an agitator rotatably mounted in said nozzle, said passage having a port opening exteriorly thereof to receive a converter member, a valve member normally closing said converter port and adapted to be opened by said converter member, pairs of front and rear wheels supporting said casing, said front wheels being mounted for limited vertical movement `relative to said casing through the medium of supporting brackets having pivotal connection with the underside of said casing, the pivoted front wheel supporting bracket adjacent said converter portv including a lever arm normally extending transversely of said converter port to prevent the insertion of said converter member, abutments coacting with said pivoted wheel supporting brackets to maintain said wheels in a position to support said nozzle at a predetermined height above the licor level, torsion springs acting on said wheel supporting brackets in a direction to depress said wheels upon the tilting of said casing upon the rear wheels as a fulcrum suiliciently to raise the nozzle above its normal height and simultaneously .to swing said lever into a position above the converter port thereby permitting the insertion of said converter member, the subsequent forward'tilting of the casing bringing said lever into contact with the converter member to hold the cleaner in nozzle elevated position.

6. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing including a suction-producing unit and a nozzle communicating with said suction-producing unit through an inlet passage, a rotary agitator mounted in said nozzle, said passage having a port opening thereinto from the exterior thereof adjacent the inlet tosaidsuction-producing unit and adapted to receive a converter member for ofthefloor operation, pairs of wheels mounted'adjacent the front and rear ends of said casing, said front wheels being mounted for limited vertical movement at the forward ends of pivoted wheel supporting brackets, abutments on said casing coacting with said wheel supporting brackets to maintain said nozzle at a predetermined height above the oor surface, springs aiespoo acting on said wheel supporting bracket in a direction to depress said wheels, the spring-actuated front wheel supporting ybracket adjacent said converter port having a barrier lever normally.

extending transversely of the converter port but shiftable in the movement of said supporting bracket under spring tension into a position above and out of port obstructing position upon the backward tilting of said cleaner to permit the insertion of said connector member and to raise the agitator out of contact with the carpet surface, said casing being held in tilted position by the coaction of said converter member with said barrier lever.

7. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a casing including a suction-producing unit and a nozzle communicating with said suction-producing unit through an inlet passage, a rotary agitator mounted in said nozzle, saidpassage having a port opening thereinto from the exterior thereof adjacent the inlet to said suction-producing unit and adapted to receive a converter member for oi-the-floor operation, pairs of wheels mounted adjacent the front and rear ends of said casing, said front wheels being mounted for limited vertical movement through the medium of pivoted wheel supporting brackets, springs acting to press said bracket in a downward direction, the supporting 4bracket of the front wheel adjacent said converter port having a barrier lever normally extending transversely of the converter port but shiftable from port obstructing .position by the tension of said spring upon the removal of the load on said front wheels, and a handle pivotally supported adjacent the rear end of said casing, and means for limiting the swinging movement of said handle rearwardly and downwardly toward a horizontal position, whereby its weight counterbalances the weight carried by said front wheels sufliciently to tilt the cleaner backwardly on its rear wheels thereby raising the agitator out of contact with the carpet surface and displacing said barrier lever to permit the insertion of a connector member into its port.

BERNARD C. BECKER. 

